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Bpd and Autism

mumof4boys772

Ok I have a son who has  Asd and another who is under pychy who supposdley has Bpd, now this evening I have been doing loads of research to find out a lot of autistic people are being diagnosed as bpd when they are in actual fact Asd, I have mentioned this to my sons coordinator in the past to get him tested for Asd but nothing came of it.  Just to say though when he first got sectioned the hospital said he had Asd, but I have heard nothing of it since.  He fits the criteria of Asd more than he fits bpd, I just wondered if anyone else vould give me some more info.  I seriously feel like them telling him he has Bpd does not fit, that does not mean I do not want him to have it, but it does not fit if that makes sense.

  • in reply to Giddy

    Thanks Giddy thats what I intend to do.

  • hi I was diagnosed as Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder a few years back im currently awaiting my Assessment for Autism / Aspie i wasn't aware that you couldn't be both EUPD & ASD but i would urge you to keep pushing for an assessment at least then you will know for sure

    good luck

  • in reply to NAS24859
    NAS24859 said:
    I was originally mis-diagnosed with BP

    Can you explain 'BP' please?

    DBT I know is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for personality disorders, and PDoc I take as  psychiatrist/psychologist/psychotherapist.

    Thanks for sharing your story, frustrating as it was. Glad you eventually got some understanding.

  • I was originally mis-diagnosed with BP, then BPD. At four different appointments, I explained how I thought I was autistic but the psychiatrist (PDOC) dismissed me each time. On the fourth time, they finally gave me the screener questionnaire so that they could prove to me that I wasn't autistic, although I was finally labeled as autistic by the specialist autism team.

    Just before my autism assessment I was assessed for DBT. The clinical psychologist who ran these sessions met with me over 2 x 1 hour appointments to go through the criteria for BPD and whether I was suitable for the specialist therapy. She refused to allow me to access DBT as our in-depth conversation revealed I didn't meet the criteria for BPDRage. 

    I've been left feeling like I was simply another person on the long conveyer belt of individuals my PDOC had to see in a day. I also believe that there's a certain number of labels that are in at the minute and if you struggle with social situations rather than exploring this further many PDOCs see this as 'unstable relationships' and label you with BPD so they don't have to fit you in for more appointments and can free up there time to see others on their caseload.

    If I was in that situation again, against the criteria for autism I would write down all of the examples of how I behaved in an autistic way and ask my GP for a referral. I wasted two years trying to get a referral from my PDOC. Having the BPD label was really tough and I felt there was no hope for my recovery. Now I know I'm autistic everything finally makes sense and I'm so much happier. Getting the right label has transformed my life.

  • Hello. I have heard of several cases of autism being misdiagnosed as 'borderline personality disorder' (BPD or 'emotionally unstable personality disorder', EUPD).

    A friend had a diagnosis of BPD for many years as an adult, but since an autism diagnosis the misdiagnosis has been removed. This seems to be a well-known trend; in fact misdiagnosis is one of the biggest problems with autistic adults getting help. That doesn't necessarily mean that 'personality disorders' are not useful labels to some people, or that you can't have a diagnosis of both BPD and autism. The misdiagnosis seems particularly common in women, as there is a traditional male stereotype of Asperger syndrome, and a traditional female stereotype of EUPD/BPD. However, another confusion is that it's based on limited behaviour that turns up in mental health services, and supposedly inexplicable mental distress and meltdowns may lead a professional to assume all kinds of BPD motives around relationships with others and with authority that don't apply in autism. If you're autistic and alexithymic, you might not know any differently (I mean if a therapist suggests some unconscious motivation to me, all I can agree is it's not conscious) or be able to speak up.

    One problem with a BPD diagnosis is that it implies a particular relationship to services and getting help, as seen in this recent post:
    https://community.autism.org.uk/f/health-and-wellbeing/12600/can-t-access-mental-health-services

    Here's another story, from Danny, a couple of weeks ago:
    https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/13008/looking-for-advice

    Some discussion about coexisting diagnoses:
    https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/8666/thoughts-about-autism-and-bpd

    Here are some other threads or comments mentioning the misdiagnosis (searching for "borderline personality" may find more):

    Here's a story based on some research, and also mentioning bipolar affective disorder (which has strong emotional states in common)..

    https://www.autismresearchtrust.org/News/borderline-personality-disorder-or-autism

    I would support you sharing your concerns. The fact your other son is autistic may help convince mental health professionals who believe there is a genetic or hereditary component to autism, but a lot still think autism is only useful in a tiny number of people who are mostly non-verbal.